ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · board · rest · degree · fine · court · file · branch

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — what's left
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. file — a line of people
  8. board — a committee
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fine — high quality
  11. degree — temperature
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. file — a tool
  18. court — of law
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. degree — from a university
  21. board — to get on
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. file — a document
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com